Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin recently gathered in Brussels for EthCC, reflecting on Ethereum’s evolution and future challenges as it marks its 10-year anniversary since inception in 2014.
Evolution of Ethereum:
Ethereum has undergone significant development since its launch, particularly in improving scalability and affordability through shifts to proof-of-stake consensus and adopting a layer-2 centric approach for scaling the network’s base layer.
Achievements and Challenges:
At EthCC, Buterin and Lubin acknowledged Ethereum’s achievements in scalability and affordability. Lubin highlighted the role of zero-knowledge (ZK) proof-powered layer 2 solutions (L2s) in enhancing performance and reducing costs for users. These platforms enable offchain transaction batching with cryptographic proofs submitted to Ethereum’s base layer.
Technological Directions:
Lubin emphasized the superiority of ZK-rollups over optimistic rollups for scaling challenges. He noted that while optimistic approaches have niche uses, their reliance on fraud proofs that take up to two weeks for final settlement does not align with Ethereum’s forward trajectory towards efficiency and effectiveness.
User Experience and Usability:
Improving user experience remains pivotal as Ethereum seeks mainstream adoption. Simplifying protocol layers and enhancing usability are ongoing goals to abstract complexities for end-users, a key focus highlighted by both co-founders.
Challenges and Risks:
Buterin addressed significant risks such as censorship within the ecosystem, highlighting concerns about transaction censorship by nodes and strategies to mitigate such risks through increased quorum thresholds for transaction finality.
Future Vision for Ethereum:
Buterin outlined his vision for Ethereum to support majority users running light clients on mobile devices to verify transactions on both the base layer and L2s. He emphasized protocol simplification while leveraging the advantages of L2 networks, positioning Ethereum uniquely as a robust base layer in the blockchain space.
In conclusion, Ethereum’s journey over the past decade underscores its resilience and innovation in addressing scalability, affordability, and usability challenges. The ongoing developments in blockchain technology, particularly in layer 2 solutions and protocol enhancements, are shaping Ethereum’s future as a leading platform for decentralized applications and financial infrastructure.
